6 months old, Continued

Evan had his 6 month old checkup on Monday, and all is good according to the doctor. He weighs 18 lbs, 2 oz and is 26.5 inches long. We had his pictures taken today at Portrait Innovations. They did a great job! Here's just a few...

The first few are in his outfit from his Christening/Baptism, which was last Saturday (7/7/07). I'm hoping to post a blog about it soon.

6 Months Old!

Evan turned 6 months old today! Really, where has the time gone? Our little baby is quickly turning into a little boy. It's exciting, but also sad at the same time. He's growing and learning things so quickly lately. It seems as though every day he's doing something new. A few weeks ago we started him on his vegetables. The first one we tried was peas. As you can see from his expression below, he wasn't quite sure about them at first. But, a few spoonfuls later he was loving them! We introduced carrots about a week later, and he loved those even more. Now he opens his mouth in anticipation of them and actually puts his hands around the spoon to "help" us feed him.

Since Evan has entered our house, our 2 cats have tried to pretend that Evan did not really exist. Every once in a while they would come over and sniff him, but that was the extent of their interactions. Last week Casey must have been craving some attention. While Rick was holding Evan, she actually came over and laid partly on Rick's lap. Evan just stared at her, then attempted to pet her. Although he was not very gentle, Casey continued to lay there and did not react to Evan. Since then, Evan has taken an interest in her and will watch her from across the room. I bet he can't wait to be chasing after her!

Now for the biggest milestone...Evan has started sitting up by himself! It was strange - one day he needed full support from us, then literally the next day it was completely independent. This picture is the first time he did it by himself. He's playing with a new toy from his Aunt Lisa. A few seconds later he toppled over, scared himself and started crying, but he's getting much better. He still tends to wobble a bit and needs a pillow behind him, but he loves sitting like a big boy and playing with his toys.

I love this picture!! It was taken on July 4th. He had a cute patriotic shirt on early in the day, but after a diaper explosion we had to change him.

Evan loves to play peek-a-boo now. He just laughs and laughs!!

A Visit from Jack

This weekend my friends from college, Kate and Joe, and their 1 year old son, Jack, drove from their home in Michigan for a visit. (To visit Joe's blog, click here.) The last time we saw Jack he was 6 months old, and now he is walking and talking and completely adorable! We had planned to take the boys to Brookfield Zoo on Saturday, but the weather decided not to cooperate with us, so we spent the day "relaxing" and hanging out at our house. Evan and Jack were definately interested in what the other could do, and I think Evan was wishing he could chase after Jack. Jack had fun playing with some of Evan's toys, especially the Exersaucer. As soon as Jack started playing with one of the toys, Evan would suddenly become interested in that same one, and vice versa. Casey, our female cat, also had a taste of what soon will come. Jack chased her all around the house and was trying to grab her tail and pet her. She actually did pretty well, but also found some good places where she was out of reach. A few more months and Evan will be doing the same thing!! We all had a great time this weekend and wish we lived a little closer, but at least we appreciate our time together this way!

Aren't they cute?!

Sharing Jack's toys
Fun with the Exersaucer

Goin' Swimmin'

It was a beautiful day outside today, so we decided to test out Evan's new baby pool. I don't think he really knew what to do or think, but he didn't cry so that is a good sign. It'll be much easier when he can sit up unsupported. I'm sure in a few more tries he'll be splashing around and having fun!!

Testing out the water

Am I supposed to be smiling??

Splish! Splash!

A Busy Month

I can't believe it's already been a month since my last post! Being a working mom is so time consuming. Luckily school is out next week, so I should be better at this for the next few months.

Evan is now 5 months old! It's amazing all the changes he has gone through the past month. He focuses on things so intently now and his hand-eye coordination is so much better. When he wants something within his reach, he grabs it almost immediately. He is now laughing, and his giggle is absolutely adorable - almost a belly laugh at times! At dinner we've adventured into rice cereal WITH BANANAS. Oooh, delicious! Evan is doing much better eating from a spoon and actually opens his mouth with anticipation of what is coming next. He has also found his feet. When he's laying on his back, he lifts them into the air and just stares at them. And, Evan is still in love with the darling Giada on TV. Every Saturday morning when I'm watching The Food Network Evan will stare at the TV for the entire 30 minutes. I know, he shouldn't be watching TV at his age, but that little bit won't hurt!

Evan now has a favorite stuffed bear that we call Jingles. He falls asleep with him quite often!

At the Walk for Autism at Soldier Field

Grandpa being a bad influence! Really, Evan was sitting on his lap STARING at the Captain Morgan's bottle.

Jeremy and Tara's Wedding (Rick's friends), Memorial Day Weekend

Look at those feet!!

Television Tot

Evan has become extremely interested in watching TV lately. Several funny stories...

I was feeding him in our bedroom Saturday morning. I had the Food Network on and was watching the end of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals. Evan drank his bottle contently. Then, the next show came on - Everyday Italian. If you're not familiar with the host, Giada De Laurentiis, she is quite attractive and has an annoyingly cute personality. Almost immediately, Evan's head whipped toward the television and he would not take his focus off of it. He could care less about the bottle. This was not his first encounter with the darling Giada. A few weeks ago, Evan was sitting in his bouncy seat, needing to take a nap. But again, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. So, I turned the TV off. What did he do? He turned his head away and was asleep in less than 30 seconds, no joke.

But it's not just his girlfriend, Giada, that he is interested in. The other day I was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher, and Evan was in the family room playing with his Farm play gym. When I set him down, he was facing the animals, playing with them as he should. The next minute I looked down at him, and he had turned himself 90 degrees and was watching the TV above him.

I think we have trouble ahead of us!!

4-month-old Boy

Evan is now 4 months old. How time flies! He had his check up at the doctor's office today. He now weighs 15 lbs 5 oz and is 25 1/4 inches long. Evan also had 4 more shots and actually did well again. He cried at first, but as soon as I picked him up he was perfectly fine. WHEW! The good news (besides that he's perfectly healthy of course) is that we got the go-ahead to start cereal. We tried for the first time tonight with little success - we timed it bad though since he had already been awake for over 4 hours and was ready for bed. I don't think he really knew what he was supposed to do with a spoon in his mouth!

2 Shots in each leg - poor thing!

Yummy Cereal!

We also thought for sure that Evan's teeth were coming in with all the drooling he's been doing lately and chewing on his hands and anything that comes near him, but the Dr. said she didn't see anything yet.

The burp cloth tastes better than the cereal. Drooling baby...